Breaking Sounds

Horriblefest in Cleveland this Weekend

This Thursday, the second installment of Horriblefest kicks off in Cleveland at the Now That's Class! tavern. The festival debuted in 2005 with a lineup that proved to be more than what it had promised as a weekend packed with an eclectic line-up that ran the gamut of rock'n'roll bangers. Featuring the punk smash folk revival of the Black Lips, to the brilliant pop beer-bag King Louie, to even more tumultuous acts like Rot Shit, whose performance included a live eel, and Florida's Fashion! Fashion! and the Image Boys, the festival has quite a bit to live up to.

This year, the lineup is equally impressive and features a good sampling of acts from all over the country. Thursday starts off with quite a pummeling. The Athens, Ohio outfit We March blast out a toxic mix of hardcore hooks that rail through clamorous rapid and rabid beats, vocals that sound like they are coming from a perfectly tapped-out larynx, and a high energy delivery that will have the audience panting. Another highlight for Thursday's opener is the long-running Kent Ohio three piece, Kill the Hippies. With perfect quick blasts of sonic retardation, they fill the void of the inane, tasteless, and simple tunes of The Angry Samoans, that many just couldn't get their thumbs on including the more recent Angry Samoans themselves. At their core, Matt on guitar and Melissa on bass have gone through drummers like most of us go through lighters. Throwing it down for over a decade, Kill The Hippies have a gift for delivering a brand of sound that guarantees a great time.

As Friday rolls in, day shows realistically scheduled to start a 5 in the afternoon, give show-goers ample time to either recover from the night before or resteep their livers at a suitable pace. At Tower 2012 be sure to catch the Terrible Twos, as their tantrum of front-loaded tunes should leave a wake of blown eardrums and cashed eye holes that should be easier washed over with the sweater pop outfit, The Test Patterns, from Pittsburgh, PA. Later that evening back at Now That's Class, there's another packed lineup featuring Homostupids, who are one of the only returning acts from the original Horrible festival in 2005. The Athens, Georgia crunch of hardcore, perfectly named American Cheeseburger, squelch their corniness with growling vocals and quick bursting tunes, and later that evening, The River City Tanlines will wipe that slate clean for the final day with their detonation of anthemic metal-edged dins.

It'll be either next to impossible to get going Saturday morning, or you'll have never quite wound down from the night before. Either way, if you don't get back over to Tower 2012 for the early show, which starts at 3PM, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Milwaukee's Bear Proof Suitwill shatter the crusty sleep from your blood-shot peepers before you get a chance to wipe the slimy crust from the corners of your malnourished, beer-caked lips. And if for some reason you pass on Dead Hookers' performance, your own mother will probably never talk to you again, as their debut LP on Deadbeat is one of this year's highlights so far.

The final evening show Saturday features the prodigy of bedroom scum recording-turned touring act, LiveFastDie, and the weekend is topped off with an appearance from none other than the Virginia Beach pill-popping legends, The Candy Snatchers. For a complete line-up check the Cleveland listings to your right and the Horrible Fest site for tips for out-of-towners, and more.